Passengers at some of the country’s busiest airports, including Gatwick and Manchester, are facing widespread disruption due to fog.

The UK’s main air traffic control provider, Nats, said the flow of flights had been reduced for safety reasons.

“Due to widespread fog, temporary air traffic restrictions are in place at several airports across the UK today,” Nats said.

Dozens of flights from Heathrow were also delayed or cancelled but a spokeswoman for the airport, contacted by the BBC, did not clarify whether the disruption was due to the weather.

“Restrictions of this sort are only ever applied to maintain safety,” Nats said, adding staff were working “closely with the airports and airlines to minimise disruption”.

Passengers should check the status of their flight with their airline and airport, Nats added.

Data from flight tracking website Flightradar24 showed dozens of outbound flights were cancelled from airports across the UK, while hundreds more were delayed.

Manchester, Glasgow and Cardiff were among the airports where flights were delayed or cancelled.

Inbound flights were also affected, Flightradar24 data showed.

Irem, 36, had her flight from Germany to the UK delayed by nearly seven hours due to fog at Manchester Airport.

“That will be delayed slightly, but I suppose we’re lucky we’re still going to see them tomorrow.”

It reminded motorists to use dipped headlights, wipers and demisters while driving in foggy conditions.

The persistent low cloud, mist and fog has been trapped in place by a slow-moving area of high pressure.

Over the weekend that high will drift away, allowing the breeze to strengthen. This will turn over the stagnant air and begin to lift the fog.

Saturday will start with widespread low cloud, mist and fog – especially in England and Wales. Some of that is expected to gradually clear during the day, particularly by the afternoon, and a few spells of sunshine are possible.

By Sunday conditions look significantly clearer with sunny spells across much of England, Wales and Northern Ireland. At the same time heavy rain will set in across the north and west of Scotland but stronger winds mean that fog will not be a significant concern.

Source: www.bbc.com